CHARISSA CHEAH
Ph.D.
// Lab Director (410-455-1059)
Dr. Charissa Cheah obtained her B.A. in Honors Psychology (Thesis Program) from the University of Waterloo, and her Ph.D. in Human Development (Developmental Science Specialization) from the University of Maryland, College Park. After a Postdoctoral Fellowship position at Yale University, Dr. Cheah spent 3 years as an Assistant Professor in the Culture and Human Development program at the University of Saskatchewan. In 2004, she accepted a position at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is currently a Professor in the Applied Developmental Program. Dr. Cheah's research includes the study of the interactions between individual, peer and family factors in the social, emotional development and health of children adolescents. She is particularly interested in the exploration of multiple pathways in which cultural factors and contexts contribute to children's functioning through parenting.

Dr. Cheah is the current Chair of the Asian Caucus and serves on the Ethnic and Racial Issues Committee of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD). She is also an elected member of the Executive Committee and the Membership Committee of the International Society for the Study of Behavioral Development (ISSBD).

Dr. Cheah was awarded a fellowship (2006 - 2009) by the Foundation for Child Development: Changing Faces of America's Children - Young Scholars Program (YSP). For more information about the YSP, please visit:https://www.fcd-us.org/about-us/young-scholars-program/Dr. Cheah also received a Visiting Scientists Fellowship award by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey.

Dr. Cheah also received a Visiting Scientists Fellowship award by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey.

Additionally, Dr. Cheah is an editorial board member of the journals Social Development, International Journal of Behavioral Development, and the Journal of Family Psychology. Dr. Cheah has also consulted for the Nickelodeon Jr. Television series Dora the Explorer and Ni Hao Kai-lan as a Cultural Content Manager.

MERVE BALKAYA
// Graduate Research Assistant (410-455-5755)

Merve is a doctoral student in the Applied Developmental Psychology program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Ege University, Turkey in 2013. Merve's research interests revolve around the role of culture and parenting on children's and adolescents' socio-emotional development, using various qualitative and quantitative assessments and data-analytic methods. Merve is passionate about understanding and promoting the well-being of children of immigrant, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. Merve's thesis examined the role of maternal encouragement of modesty in shy Chinese-American children's socio-emotional development using Structural Equation Modeling. Merve is involved in the CSTARS and IMAGE projects.

YOU JUNG SEO

// Graduate Research Assistant (410-455-5755)

You Jung is a doctoral student in the Applied Developmental Psychology program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Michigan in 2009 and her Master's degree in Psychology from the Seoul National University, South Korea in 2012. You Jung's research focuses on the parent-child relationship and socio-emotional and behavioral outcomes of preschool-aged Korean immigrant children in the United States through the roles of parental factors and child characteristics. You Jung is interested in using observational and longitudinal data to examine parenting behaviors and key developmental processes. She is involved in Project CSTARS, and works with the Korean sample.

JILLIAN SHEN
// Graduate Research Assistant (410-455-5755)

Jillian is a doctoral student in the Applied Developmental Psychology program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2011 and her Master's degree in General Psychology from the California State University, Los Angeles in 2015. Jillian's research interests focus on the social, psychological, and academic development of ethnic minority and immigrant youth in the United States. She is particularly interested in how cultural, familial, and individual characteristics act as potential risk and protective factors to impact individuals' adjustment and development. Jillian is involved in the CSTARS and Emerging Adulthood projects

KATHY T. T. VU
// Graduate Research Assistant (410-455-5755)

Kathy is a doctoral student in the Applied Developmental Psychology program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She received her Bachelor's degree in Psychology and Master's degree in Applied Developmental Psychology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2014 and 2016, respectively. Kathy's overall research focuses on understanding the pathways through which culture influences parenting and children's health and development in immigrant, refugee, and ethnic minority families. Specifically, her interests include examining the associations between parental socialization, health and cultural factors, and children's emotion expression and regulation. Kathy is involved in the CSTARS project.

XIAOFANG XUE
// Graduate Research Assistant (410-455-5755)

Xiaofang Xue is a doctoral student in the Applied Developmental Psychology program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She graduated with a B.Sc. in Bioscience from the Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, China in 2007. She received her Master's degree in Basic Psychology from Peking University, China in 2012. Xiaofang is interested in understanding how parenting beliefs and behaviors impact preschoolers' socio-emotional development and academic achievement in Asian immigrant families in the United States. More specifically, one research project she is working on is to investigate the influence of Asian immigrant mothers' long-term socialization goals on preschool-age children's social competence. Xiaofang is involved in the CSTARS project.